NCAA: Bertram On Cusp

An up-and-down year has lowered Dan Bertram's draft stock, although the smooth, skilled winger from Boston College still figures to be a candidate for the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. We provide closing in-depth thoughts on Bertram and other college talent including Paul Stastny, Andrew Thomas, Paul Szczechura, Chris Mueller and Brian Salcido.

Dan Bertram (2005), RW, Boston College

Solid enough at the u18s to land late in the first round despite hitting the wall in his freshman campaign after a terrific early-season start .. began the year on the top line but was since moved down to play on the younger unit with Joe Rooney and Matt Greene .. a pure finisher and ideal link-up player .. excellent poise in-close .. patiently outwaits goalies .. plays a solid two-way game .. comes back deep on the backcheck and makes nice reads in his own zone, but could get himself more involved .. consistently goes into danger areas and will pay the price to park in the crease and slot area .. stocky, thick-chested, powerful arms and good upper torso .. can hold off defenders and knows how to protect the puck .. skates through and finishes most of his checks .. pivots exceptionally well and rapidly gets into a shooting position .. prepares his body well to accept passes .. superb passing skills, equally effective on the backhand .. creates space for himself by keeping his feet moving while accelerating .. distributes the puck intelligently; very adept at making short feeds in close quarters . not overly flashy but makes eye-opening plays suddenly .. exceptionally quick and skilled hands .. needs a split second to control a pass and unload a pinpoint bullet feed .. a gifted playmaker; knows when to hold onto the puck and when to release early to spring a linemate .. great hand-eye coordination and stick speed .. shows very good first-step burst from standing start .. balanced and strong on his feet with deceptive startup speed, though he is not showing a breakaway top gear at this level yet .. opportunistic, has a good nose for the puck, sharp instincts around the net .. very adept at carrying the puck in such a way to open up shooting lanes .. likes to fire using defenders as screens.

Paul Stastny (2005), C, Denver

An understated, cerebral player .. strong, powerful strides lack some explosiveness .. would benefit from developing a better first-step separation gear .. a pinpoint passer with exceptional playmaking savvy .. nifty puckhandler, sneaky and fast-handed .. purposeful in all of his movements and decisions .. uses his feet like a soccer player, deflecting passes off blades to propel the puck into a shooting path .. strong defensive conscience; waits for the puck to safely clear the zone before joining the attack .. never panics; will casually receive a pass and zip pinpoint strikes to open teammates .. especially dangerous on the power play .. great vision and passing acumen .. plays textbook hockey; great puck magnetism .. makes slick little shifts with the puck in traffic to open up passing or shooting lanes .. seems to get his stick on loose pucks around the goal .. very creative in tight spaces .. well-prepared, keeps his stick on the ice around the net .. would like to see him expand a bit more energy overall as he seems to turn it up only when necessary .. likes to sit up high and let linemates work the puck down low.

Andrew Thomas (2005), D, Denver

Steady, rugged defender with excellent mobility for his size .. strong, well-developed frame .. defense-first mentality .. wide stride, long steps .. could use a bigger burst in his startup .. will step up into the neutral zone and deliver crushing open-ice hits .. well-timed and punishing .. at times gets pulled out of position and will chase the puckcarrier and leave the crease area unprotected .. gets beaten to the net despite his strength/physical advantage .. goes a bit wide when pivoting from back to forwards skating while defending the rush .. needs to get stronger on the puck and develop better protection skills .. more than once have seen him arrive at a corner first yet fail to control the puck properly and lose possession .. can be stiff and predictable while moving the puck .. misreads situations at times; will lay out hits on already-covered opponents while his man is left uncovered in the crease .. quite fast for his size; gets to the heart of the action without a problem, but doesn't process the puck effectively once he gets there.

Paul Szczechura (2005), C, Western Michigan

Shifty puckhandler, feints well .. shows excellent intelligence in all three zones .. a skilled and calculating passer who uses his wingers well .. consistently gets the puck to open teammates, soft and on the tape .. strong, smooth and balanced on his edges .. very good agility and quickness; doesn't seem to labour at any facet of skating .. backs up wingers, always takes up strong defensive positions .. not big at 5-foot-11 but has excellent lower body strength for his age.

Chris Mueller (2005), C, Michigan State

Solid two-way pivot .. freshman centers Spartans' third line with Drew Miller and Colton Fretter .. industrious, hard-working player who never quits on plays .. very good quickness, excellent tenacity and puck focus .. modest in size at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds but wins in-tight puck battles on sheer determination .. very good with the puck, but can also surprise at times with superb control, most notably in higher-traffic areas .. plays fearless; sticks his nose into danger zones, blocks shots, battles along the boards, charges to the net .. shoots the puck well and has a quick release .. aggressive and chippy in puck pursuit, always getting a piece of an opponent with his stick or body .. although he needlessly ties himself up in traffic at times and misses out on some offensive opportunities .. team-oriented .. low-maintenance, high-octane grinder with skill; in a Kirk Maltby fashion .. doesn't have the offensive upside of teammate Bryan Lerg, but is a better bet to find an NHL role given 'working class' mentality and non-stop engine.

Brian Salcido (2005), D, Colorado College

Duties increased with team injuries and California native blossomed .. rail-thin still .. needs lots of bulking up but has a nice frame to fill out .. has a bit of a bent-over skating style, but speed and agility are both very good .. long, fluid strides .. quick startup gear .. uses change of pace exceptionally well .. composed and balanced .. shows great confidence with the puck which seemed to grow exponentially with each game .. uses his stick and body well to engage puckcarriers along the wall and block passing lanes .. excellent problem-solving skills in his own end .. shifty, skilled stickhandler .. not flashy but technically sound in possession .. superb outlet passer with the vision to hit long-range strikes to streaking forwards .. nice passing range; makes swift tape-to-tape passes .. able to thread his way through the neutral zone as, increasingly, opponents are having to respect his passing skills .. his awareness around the puck is highly refined .. gets shots through to the net .. varies shot selection intelligently .. will take a little jam off to speed up delivery .. masks intentions exceptionally well .. should get quicker as he gets stronger .. knows where to go in the d-zone to get the puck .. strong two-way instincts .. excellent stick skills .. positions himself well and expertly uses his stick to obstruct opposing forwards .. still lean and lanky, needing to add muscle and body mass .. must also develop physical presence .. will throw the occasional hit but mostly relies on finesse .. tends to look out of his element when things get physical .. showed increasing confidence in his abilities to deke his way down from the point on the power play .. an innovative player who demonstrates high-end puck instincts .. lacks strength and physical deterrent.